


Come Out and Saturate the Grey

by ranthimi



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, also not very shippy, but it's implied, lazard zack and kunsel are all mentioned but idk if that counts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 07:31:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13002876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ranthimi/pseuds/ranthimi
Summary: Sephiroth writes poetry. Cloud finds this out completely on accident and thankfully doesn't deliver it to someone else. Total fluff(?), just an idea I really wanted to write out.





	Come Out and Saturate the Grey

Shower priority was Cloud's favorite part of days where he and the rest of his squad were sent out on missions. Even if the job itself only lasted about half an hour within city limits, it could take quite a bit of transit time between HQ and the objective, despite their central location in Midgar. It was nice when Zack was able to let him ride up in the front of the truck, being the squad's backup commander and all, but escorts were given priority when it came to not sitting in the windowless way-back with a bunch of SOLDIERs who were probably making inappropriate jokes that would make their way up to someone who might not appreciate them as much. As much as he found them humorous himself, Cloud didn't exactly love how hot and stuffy it got back there, but it did make the shower that much nicer.

The blond dried his hair, slipped back into his uniform with the towel still on his head, grabbed his gear from the cubby he had stashed it in and headed back to the barracks to get the gear he needed for training. It didn't matter if he had just showered, it still felt nice to smack things around a bit in his spare time. Helped him sleep easier.

"Ah, Lieutenant Strife, before you head out and do anything else, I, um. I have a small favor to ask of you."  
He didn't even need to turn around to know how had just directly addressed him. The General's voice was unmistakable, even with the obvious touch of distress lingering on his words. Cloud turned around anyhow, not about to reject anything asked of him, even though it was likely something simple such as passing on a message or telling him to take the towel off his head.

"Yes, sir, I am at your service, sir," he responded promptly, trying to hide any excitement in his tone.

"At ease, it's nothing formal. I realize you have no other assignments today and I need these reports delivered to Lazard, I am... in no condition to do so myself currently." He held out a large manila envelope, almost pushing it into Cloud's hands as if eager to get rid of it. It wasn't a big secret that Sephiroth wasn't overly fond of any interactions with the director, but it seemed like something had occurred that made him even less thrilled than usual to do so.

"Is it classified?" the Lieutenant asked, almost stupidly, even though he did want to know what sort of reports even needed to be made.

"Not... not that I am aware? It's simply the weekly training logs I need to go over and sign off on, it's mandatory that I evaluate the progress of those who are... technically under my command. Please don't open it. Give it to the director and let that be the end of it." He made sure Cloud was actually holding the envelope before continuing down the hallway, before stopping and looking back over his shoulder. "And please take that towel off your head."

Cloud smiled to himself as he watched the silver-haired man continue purposefully down the hallway, probably heading for the VR rooms himself. "Yes, sir!" he called out, promptly removing the towel and wrapping it around his shoulders.

He had to know what was in the envelope now. Even though he had been told not to open it, he'd never seen the results of the training evaluations himself, and he wanted to know the General's unbiased, professional opinion on his performance. Zack's squad, his squad, was technically in Sephiroth's division, so the reports for all of them had to be in there. Besides, Kunsel could probably forge a replacement envelope or get someone to do it for him before Cloud turned in the reports to Lazard before the end of the day, so he wasn't too worried about being potentially ratted out for disobeying orders.

He returned to the bathroom, found an empty stall, sat down, and carefully opened the top of the envelope, and pulled out the stack of papers and leafed through them. They seemed to be organized by squad number, then by rank, and finally by last name. The numbers were technically out of order due to the generally lower-than-expected turnout for SOLDIER, so there could be anywhere from 1 to about 12 numbers missing between squads, not to mention the absence of squads not technically headed by Sephiroth.

"Let's see... 9, 18, 22, 29..." Cloud leafed through the papers, being careful not to miss too many just in case. Squad 36 shouldn't have been too hard to find, but between 31 and 36 there were about 4 pages of paper with no headers that immediately caught his attention. Good thing I disobeyed orders, Seph might have gotten an earful if he delivered this as-is.

He wasn't sure if the documents were simply reversed or not, so he pulled out the four unmarked pages only to find out they were marked, with the General's own elegant handwriting, no less. It was hard to make out at first, Cloud had never actually seen his handwriting up close, but after a couple of seconds of adjustment and through context clues provided by the length and placement of the lines, a single word stood out in his mind. Poetry. This was definitely not something Lazard should get his hands on, and it needed to be returned to its rightful owner, anyhow. Seph was surely worried about its absence from his desk. But Cloud was determined to read it first.

He wrote of family (or lack thereof), of the ink-black and mako-green cityscape he could see from the windows of the skyscraper that dominated the center of the city, of harsh procedures and pains of failure, wishing to leave and see the world beyond the metal dome he had been confined to his whole life. Cloud wasn't often one to be moved to tears by flowery wording (even though the subjects they spoke of were practically coated in a layer of grime and rust like the city) but the sheer, visceral sadness he felt for the General's situation was enough to prompt that. He placed the pages at the front of the stack, carefully slid it back into the envelope and left the bathroom in a rush, down the hallway once again.

The simulation room was often the only solace and glimpse of the outside world Sephiroth had access to, and after a particularly wretched meeting earlier in the day he was extremely displeased when the simulation paused, indicating that someone was using the comm unit to contact anyone using the room.

"What do you want?" he growled, not even turning towards the outlined door noted in the simulated environment.

"It's Lieutenant Strife, sir. There, uh... there's something really, really important I need to tell you about those documents you told me to deliver."

He sighed, moving towards the door and surrendering to the fact that today was not the day he could be immersed in a pleasant fantasy.

"You opened the folder and disobeyed direct orders." It wasn't a question, it was a statement, and a very, very dangerous one at that.

"I did, sir. But some... personal effects accidentally made it into the envelope and I wanted to give them back. I don't think the director would appreciate them as much as I did."  
His eyes narrowed, even though it wasn't like the boy to play a prank on him, he was aware that even though he was popular with nearly everyone who joined the ranks of Shinra's elite military, Cloud in particular was extremely fond of him, and therefore may use underhanded techniques to get closer.

"Give me that," he hissed, snatching the file from Cloud's hands, and opening it before roughly pulling out the papers before staring in shock. Four whole pages of the poems he had written to help het himself through the pointless labor of overseeing training of people he didn't even know personally had accidentally been thrown in amongst the reports that drove him to do so. His anger immediately turned to shame and embarrassment, and he looked away before apologizing.

"I'm glad you looked. Please... don't tell anyone about this. I've already ruined my image for you and I cannot have this knowledge getting out." His long silver hair fell over his face, obscuring the fact that he was biting back tears while refusing to meet the blond's gaze.

"I don't want to. You didn't ruin your image for me. You just made it bigger. And better."

"Better?" He laughed bitterly. "How did I make it better? Now you won't see me as the great General, only a sniveling mess who needs to resort to poetry to ease his mind." He turned away, ready to return to the VR room before Cloud stopped him.

"I see someone who would rather be free than be an icon. I loved it. It made me cry, it... it made me feel things I don't think I ever felt before. I won't tell anyone, I promise. But if... if you feel comfortable, ever... I wanna read more of it. It's really good."

Sephiroth trembled visibly and tensed up, and Cloud prepared for a potential impact and subsequent demotion. Instead, he found himself in an unexpected embrace, and tentatively returned the gesture.

"I never imagined someone would want to see all of the colors locked away inside me. I was told they would make me appear weak, worthless... that even having them at all made me so. But perhaps... perhaps they were wrong. Thank you. I'd love to show you more... after I correct the mishap with the paperwork." He straightened up, smoothed the front of his coat and immediately resumed his air of superiority and aloofness.

"Return to my office after you've delivered the correct file this time. I certainly can't deal with Lazard like this."

"Yes, sir!" Cloud made no effort to hide his enthusiasm this time.

**Author's Note:**

> The title and part of Seph's line near the end of the fic are just the lyrics of "Koan" by The Queenstons. I kinda just liked the idea of Seph writing poetry in his spare time, it popped into my head last night, and I decided to make the result my first fic posted on here. I also apologize if I have no idea how to properly work the tag system yet, so if you have suggestions just let me know.
> 
> (Edit: I didn't see where the "no archive warnings apply" box was before, I've updated that now)


End file.
